Jon whispered, “No lawyers, no trial?”
“Look outside, do you want to be held in a prison for months waiting for a trial? You’d most likely freeze to death. We need all of the resources we have to ensure we can move everyone out of the way of the glaciers. The world has changed, both of our countries suffered massive riots and destruction of some of our great cities when our people learned of the asteroid. Shortly after our president found out about the coming disaster, he decided to declare martial law. As such, our military are the law. Here is a list of the key laws you need to pay attention to. Breaking any of them could result in your death.”
Erin was shocked, “I don’t understand…”
“Mrs. Coats, we opened our borders to your people. Combined with ours, our new population after the fighting, those who refused to leave and those we lost along the coasts is now 210 million, all of whom who have to live in a much smaller area, some of it desert. Follow our laws and you’ll be fine. We will, as a gesture of good will, fill your vehicle and give you some bagged meals to take with you. These won’t count towards your rations.”
Jon asked, “What will we encounter between here and Interstate 81?”
“Before ‘Robert’s Rock,’ it would have been very easy. Now, you’re going to have travel some back roads, some local ones to the west side of the state, then south until you reach New York State, where you’ll find large red signs which will direct you to the Interstate. I wish I could tell you the trip is safe, I can’t. There are many people who have set up roadblocks and will do anything to loot, kill, and rape. The best advice I can give you is don’t believe any request for help you see and don’t stop for any reason. If someone is flagging you down for help, ignore them. It’s a scam. If you come to a roadblock, quickly back track and get away from it. Keep your weapons loaded and ready. I wish I could give you better information, but as more people have left, those left behind have turned very violent. Whatever you do, don’t let them grab your wife and daughters.”
Jon’s face paled, “Isn’t there an easier route?”
“I’m sorry, there isn’t.”
“How did your people leave the areas?”
“The military escorted them. There were a number of fire fights along the way. The military lost some people and they destroyed a number of gangs, but two replaced every one that was destroyed. I don’t have much information on the road conditions. Many of our border stations like this one have been closed as the number of people crossing over have decreased.”
“Shit, we shouldn’t have stayed so long.”
“I won’t ask you why you did stay so long, but if you’re careful, you can make it. Once you reach the Interstate, your trip will be much safer. The military does patrol the surviving Interstates. If you run into a military patrol, follow all of their orders, their word is law and they enforce it on the spot. This isn’t the United States as you once knew it.”
After everyone had a chance to use the restrooms and had their fill of hot soup and packed a bag of sandwiches, they filled their thermoses with coffee and hot chocolate. The agents filled their SUV and they were off again. This time their license plates had been changed to say refugee and they had a red square in the upper right-hand side of their windshield which told the military they were refugees.
Jon smiled at his family, “Are we ready?” Everyone nodded their heads, “Okay, here we go, we’re going to follow the yellow brick road. Before you ask, I have no idea how long the trip is going to take. I need everyone to stay alert and look for anything strange. If you see anyone yell out. From now until we reach the Interstate, we’re going to assume everyone we see is hostile and we’re going to treat them as such.”
Trinity asked, “Dad, does that mean we shoot first?”
“Honey, I’ll tell you. However, if you see someone approaching us and you think they’re armed, then yes, roll your window down and shoot. Just yell out so we’re warned, if you can. Remember what the agent told us, we can’t count on any friendly people until we reach the Interstate.”
Both girls agreed to keep their eyes open, except the gentle swaying of the SUV on the snow-covered streets and their full stomachs left them falling asleep. Their eye lids kept dropping and their heads falling as they drifted asleep. Either Jon would swerve the SUV shaking the girls awake or Erin would reach back and tap the girls’ knees to wake them.
Erin’s eyes were wide with what she saw along the road, almost every building they passed was either burnt to its foundation or it had been destroyed. Jon whispered, “This looks like a war zone. What the hell happened here?”
Erin shook her head, “I don’t know, but it looks a mob went wild and destroyed everything in their path. I’ve never seen such total destruction. I wonder if gangs went house to house after the people moved out and when they took everything of value, they torched the remains of the homes and buildings.”
Jon nodded, “It’s the only thing that makes any sense to me. I hope those gangs are
